Stretcher pole attachment



Jan. 24, 1967 G, M. BUSSARD' 3,300,182

STRETCHER POLE ATTACHMENT Filed Oct. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F fg.

/22/ 46 Gera/dM. Hussard INVENTOR.

Jan- 24, 1967 G. M. BussARD STRETCHER POLE ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 vrUnited States Patent litice 3,300,182 Patented Jan. 24, 1967 3,300,182 STRETCHER POLE ATTACHMENT Gerald M. Bussard, 727 E. Harrison St., Springfield, Mo. 65806 Filed Oct. 22, 1965. Ser. No. 500,813 8 Claims. (Cl. 254-62) This invention relates generally to carpet stretchers,

and more particularly to carpet stretcher poles including improved remotely controlled attachment means therefor for preventingbuckling of the pole when in use.

` In laying carpets, one edge of the carpet is normally tacked adjacent one wall of the room, and the carpet then stretched across the room by a carpet stretcher and held in place thereby while the opposite edge is tacked in place. Carpet stretchers as heretofore used in the prior art required the operator to manually control any buckling which occurred in the stretcher pole, as for example when the pole was subjected to extreme compressive force during use. In some instances, these prior art devices yrequired that the operator or his helper actually retain the stretcher pole by hand or by placing the knee thereon in or-der to prevent such buckling. Of course, it will be appreciated that this necessitates lost time and usually at least two men for laying a carpet, and hence is quite ineicient.

Briefly, this invention comprises an attachment for a stretcher pole which is used in carpet stretchers, the attachment being mounted approximately at the longitudinal center of the pole for gripping the carpet in order to prevent buckling of the pole. It includes a remotely controlled connection for the attachment which may be operated by the user of the device from a position adjacent the gripping head of the carpet stretcher in order to selectively actuate the attachment for gripping the carpet.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an attachment for carpet stretchers for preventing the stretcher pole from buckling during use of the carpet stretcher.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a remotely controlled attachment for carpet stretchers which may be easily installed on existing carpet stretcher poles for eliminating buckling of the lstretcher poles during use.

Itis a further object of the present invention to provide a carpet stretcher including a Wall-abutting head, an elongate stretcher pole, a stretcher head and gripping means mounted on the pole for preventing buckling of the pole.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a carpet gripping attachmentfor mounting on stretcher poles which is light of weight and simple of construction, and which includes means located on the stretcher head of the carpet stretcher for controlling the carpet gripping attachment.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective View of a carpet stretcher used in laying carpets, and including the gripping attach- `ment of the present invention mounted in place thereon; FIGURE 2 is a partial enlarged elevational View of the carpet stretcher attachment comprising the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is astill further enlarged elevational view of the carpet gripping attachment comprising the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the carpet gripping attachment illustrated in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional View taken substantially on the plane of the line 5--5 of FIGURE 3 and;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged partial vertical sectional View taken substantially on the plane of the line 6-6 of FIG- URE 2.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, reference numeral 10 generally denotes a carpet stretching device used for stretching a carpet 12 across the floor 14 of a room which includes the baseboard 16. The carpet stretching device 10 conventionally includes a Wall-abutting head 18, a stretcher head generally denoted by reference numeral 20 and a telescoping stretcher pole 22 including a plurality of pole sections 24 which may be telescoped to increase or decrease the length of the pole and retained in extended position by suitable connecting means 26.

The use of a conventional carpet stretcher may best be explained by referring to FIGURES l and 2. The carpet 12 is normally tacked adjacent the baseboard 16, at which time the operator moves to the opposite side of the carpet and stretches it away from the baseboard 16. The stretcher head 20 includes a plurality of teeth 28 extending downwardly therefrom at an angle away from the baseboard 16, and thus the stretcher head may be used to engage the nap 30 on the carpet 12 to hold it in stretched condition across the floor 14 while the operator tacks the edge of the carpet opposite the baseboard 16 to the floor. Of course, it should be appreciated that inasmuch as the stretcher pole 22 is quite long with respect to its diameter, and inasmuch as the pole sections 24 are of hollow construction an'd of lightweight material such as aluminum or the like, and further inasmuch as a relatively great compressive force is placed on the pole when the stretcher head 20 is in place, there is a tendency for the pole to buckle or bend. Accordingly, during use of the conventional carpet stretcher, it is usually necessary to have at least two men to operate the stretcher, one to stretch the carpet and mount the stretcher head, `and the other to keep the stretcher pole from buckling or bending.

The present invention supplies a carpet gripping attachment generally denoted by reference numeral 32 which is mounted on the stretcher pole 22 preferably midway between the wall-abutting head 18 `and stretcher head 20 in order to prevent buckling of the pole during use thereof. The attachment 32 includes a body member 34 including a bottom wall 36 and parallel upstanding side walls 33 and 40 mounted vertically on the bottom Wall. The bottom wall 36 is arched as generally denoted by reference numeral 42 thereby providing the archway 44 through the body of the attachment.

A mounting plate 46 is mounted over an opening 48 in the bottom Wall 36 at the top of the archway 44, Mounted on the mounting plate 46 and extending downwardlyinto the archway 44 is a stretcher pole mounting bracket generally denoted by reference numeral 48, including an upper plate engaging portion 50 and a pair of resilient depending arms 52 and 54. The arms 52 and 54 are adapted to be mounted on the stretcher pole 22 as best illustrated in FIGURE 6 in order to mount the stretcher pole thereon transversely to the longitudinal axis of the pole. Extending upwardly from the mounting plate 46 through the mounting bracket 48 is a post generally denoted by reference numeral 56 including a lower portion of greatest diameter 58, an upper threaded portion 60 and an annular shoulder 62.

A bell crank generally denoted by reference numeral 64 including three legs 66, 68 and 70 extending at right angles with respect to each other is mounted on the shoulder 62 for rotation on post section 60. A coiled spring 72 is mounted on the post section 60 between Washers 74 and 7 6, with one end attached to the post and the other end attached to the bell crank in order to retain or bias the crank in the position illustrated in FIGURE 4. The spring is retained on the post section 60 by the threaded nut 78 which is mounted on the top of the post 60 over the washer 74.

A handle member 8@ is rotatably mounted on the stretcher head 20 of the carpet stretcher by the mounting bracket 82 including upstanding ears 84 and 86, and includes a hinge S8 which extends between the handle 80 and an upstanding ear 90 on the pole section 24 adjacent the stretcher head 20. A pulley 92 is mounted on the hinge 88, and a cable 94 is attached at one end to the depending lug 96 on handle 80, the cable 94 extending about the pulley 92 and attached at the other end through the aperture 98 in the wall 40 to the leg 68 of bell crank 64. Thus, it will be appreciated by viewing FIGURES 2 and 4 that when the handle 80 is moved downwardly as indicated by the arrow 100 the cable 94 will be pulled in the direction indicated by arrow 102 thereby turning the bell crank 64 clock-wise as viewed in FIGURE 4 against the bias force of spring 72.

A pair of mounting blocks 104 and 106 are mounted on the bottom wall 36 of attachment 32 at each end thereof, the mounting blocks being spaced apart in order to receive the reduced end portion S of a gripper jaw 1,10 therebetween. The gripper jaws 110 are rotatably mounted between t-he mounting blocks 104 and 106 at each end of the attachment by pins 112. Each gripper jaw 110 includes an upstanding ear 114 thereon. An elongate non-flexible rod 116 extends between the leg 70 of the bell crank 64 and the ear 114 of a rst of the gripper jaws 110, and an elongate non-flexible rod 118 extends between the legs 66 of bell crank 64 and ear 114 of the other gripper jaw 110. The rods 116 and 118 eX- tend through the ears 114 and are retained therein by conventional cotter pins 120 at one end and extend through the legs 66 and 70 and are retained therein by suitable locking means 122 at the other end. Thus, it will be appreciated that as the handle 80 is moved downwardly and the cable 94 attached to the legs 68 of bell crank 64 turns the bell crank, the legs 66 and '70 will turn as indicated in FIGURES 5 and 6, and the gripper jaws 110 will be rotated downwardly against the bottom wall 36 of the attachment by the connecting rods 116 and 11S as indicated in FIGURE 6.

Each gripper jaw 110 includes a plurality of teeth 124 fixed to the bottom surface thereof, the teeth eX- tending downwardly at approximately a 60 degree angle inwardly from a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of stretcher pole 22. The bottom wall 36 of attachment 32 includes a plurality of apertures 126 therein aligned with the teeth 124 on the gripper jaws 110, and thus, it will be observed by viewing FIGURE 6 in particular that when the handle 80 is actuated to rotate the bell crank 64, the gripper jaws 110 will move downwardly and the teeth 124 will move through apertures 126 and thus will grip the nap 30 of carpet 12. Of course, due to the angle of the teeth 124 with respect to the carpet, when the gripper jaws 11i) are actuated in this manner the attachment 32 will be firmly attached to the carpet thus eliminating any tendencies for the stretcher pole 22 to bend or buckle when the carpet stretcher 1l) is being used.

Accordingly, in view of the above description of operation, it will be readily appreciated that the attachment 32 provides a means for ready attachment on a stretcher pole which may be remotely controlled by the operator from the stretcher head in order to obviate any bending or buckling of the pole when the carpet is stretched and the stretcher head is attached to the carpet. Further, it will be appreciated that the stretcher attachment includes a pair of gripper jaws which may be selectively operated in order to releasably fasten the attachment to the carpet, with the teeth being retractible in order to provide a smooth bottom for the attachment. Thus, the carpet stretcher may be moved across the carpet by the operator merely by moving the handle in order to disengage the teeth of the attachment, at which time the attachment will have a smooth bottom surface for readily sliding across the carpet. Further, it will be appreciated that the mounting bracket 48 provided on the attachment 32 will allow the attachment to be readily mounted at any point along the stretcher pole 22, as well as being readily removable therefrom in order to fold up and store or carry the carpet stretcher.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact csonstruction and operation shown and described and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a carpet stretcher including a stretcher pole, a wall-abutting head on one end of said pole, and a stretcher head on the other end of said pole, the improvement comprising, attachment means mounted on said stretcher pole intermediate said wall-abutting head and said stretcher head for preventing buckling of said stretcher pole when the carpet is stretched, said attachment means including selectively operable carpet gripping means therein, and control means lfor actuating said carpet gripping means, said control means being located remotely from said attachment means.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said remote control actuating means comprises an actuator handle pivotally mounted on said stretcher head, and cable means operatively connecting said handle and said carpet gripping means for actuation of said carpet gripping means upon pivotal movement of said handle.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said attachment means comprises a body member, said body member being removably mounted on said stretcher pole, said carpet gripping means comprising at least one gripper jaw pivotally mounted on said body member, said gripper jaw having downwardly projecting carpet engaging teeth thereon, said remote control actuating means comprising an actuator cable operatively connecting said gripper jaw to an actuator handle mounted on said stretcher head for moving said'teeth into gripping engagement with the carpet to prevent buckling of said stretcher pole.

4. The combination of claim 3 including lever means rotatably mounted on said body member, said cable connected to one leg of said lever means for rotation thereof, means connecting another leg of said lever means to said gripper jaw for pivoting said gripper jaw in response to rotation of said lever means thereby selectively moving said teeth into carpet gripping engagement.

5. The combination of claim 4 including first and second gripper jaws pivotally mounted on said body member, said lever means comprising a bell crank having three legs, said cable connected to one of said legs, said connecting means operatively connecting a second of said legs to said lirst gripper jaw, and second connecting means operatively connecting a third of said legs to said second gripper jaw whereby rotation of said bell crank by said cable will cause said first and second gripper jaws to pivot and said teeth to engage said carpet.

6. The combination of claim 4 wherein said body member includes a substantially flat bottom wall, a plurality of spaced apertures in said bottom wall corresponding to the narrowly projecting carpeting engaging teeth on said gripper jaw, said teeth being selectively movable through said apertures into engagement with the carpet upon actuation of said lever means.

5 6 7. The combination of claim 4 wherein said body References Cited by the Examiner member includes a bottom wall, an archway formed in UNITED STATES PATENTS Said bottom wall, and means mounted in said archway for removably mounting said attachment means on said 6301079 8/1899 Scnbner 254-60 stretcher pole` 5 2,358,436 9/ 1944 Bartlow 254-62 8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said means for FOREIGN PATENTS removably mounting said attachment means comprises a 1 218 568 12/1959 France mounting bracket having a pair of resilient spaced apart leg means thereon, said leg means extending downwardly WILLIAM FELDMAN Primary Examiner' into said archway and adapted for resilient gripping en- 10 gagement with said stretcher pole. M- S- MEHR, Examlne- 

1. IN A CARPET STRETCHER INCLUDING A STRETCHER POLE, A WALL-ABUTTING HEAD ON ONE END OF SAID POLE, AND A STRETCHER HEAD ON THE OTHER END OF SAID POLE, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING, ATTACHMENT MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID STRETCHER POLE INTERMEDIATE SAID WALL-ABUTTING HEAD AND SAID STRETCHER HEAD FOR PREVENTING BUCKLING OF SAID STRETCHER POLE WHEN THE CARPET IS STRETCHED, SAID ATTACHMENT MEANS INCLUDING SELECTIVELY OPERABLE CARPET GRIPPING MEANS THEREIN, AND CONTROL MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID CARPET GRIPPING MEANS, SAID CONTROL MEANS BEING LOCATED REMOTELY FROM SAID ATTACHMENT MEANS. 